RESEARCH IN BRITISH WEST AFRICA. Dilke 
M’Bollett is through a thin plantation of young trees with very little under- 
growth ; the village of M’Bollett, which is small, occupies a moderately large 
clearing in this thin forest growth. Shortly after leaving this village a belt of 
dense bush with an enormous amount of undergrowth, about 50 yards in width, is 
crossed, while onwards from this the vegetation consists of thick low scrub, The 
village of Jeni Kunda stands in the centre of a large clearing, while, beyond this, 
the thick low serub continues to Duniajoe, with the exception of one part, which 
is intersected by a creek fringed with mangrove swamp where the water ebbs and 
flows with the tide. The forest behind Duniajoe teems with small game, as was 
shown by the number of skulls and horns lying about the various compounds. 
The natives say that it is almost impenetrable in most places, and that hunting 
is very difficult. From Duniajoe to Essau, the road traversed is for a certain 
distance, namely to Jeni Kunda, the same as that already described, while, 
shortly after leaving this town, the dense belt of bush mentioned before is again 
crossed in a different part. Just after emerging from this belt I saw G. morsitans 
alight on the pony’s neck. After this, the bush is thin and open practically the 
whole way to Essau; about half way, one Glossina morsitans was caught on the 
pony. Just before reaching Essau, a mangrove swamp is passed on the west, 
while the town itself is also surrounded by mangroves. It is worthy of note here 
that Todd and Wolbach found that 5:4 per cent. of the population were infected 
with Trypanosoma gambiense—the highest percentage found in any part of the 
Colony. They have recommended the removal of the town and this is certainly 
the best advice ; if such a drastic step is found to be impracticable, at any rate 
extensive clearing ought to be done, as the place swarms with Glossina palpalis, 
oo, there is continual intercourse between this Province and Bathurst, through 
dssau, 
I have discussed the various types of vegetation and the physical configuration 
of the whole Colony and Protectorate in a general way, but in the case of the 
part of the Niumi Province visited, considerable further detail has been added. 
This has been done advisedly because, from the point of view of Glossina and 
trypanosomiasis, this district presents an enormous field for enquiry. In most 
other parts of the country where Glossina palpalis and Glossina morsitans exist, 
there is a fairly definite distinction between the habitats of the two species. 
This does not obtain to the same extent in Niumi, as is evidenced by the notes 
and records already given. Here also is the only forest belt in the Colony and 
the only game reserve of any extent. It may be noted here that all officials of 
the Colony, who have travelled through this Province, are unanimous with regard 
to the improbability of taking a pony through it without its being infected with 
trypanosomes. The natives are all very emphatic that it is useless for them to 
procure ponies, as these almost invariably die within a year. This was the last 
district visited by me during my tour ; in fact, I left for England four days after 
finishing this trip, and it may be worthy of notice that, throughout my whole 
tour in the Colony, my own pony showed no signs of trypanosomiasis, although I 
did not dose him with mereury and arsenic, a precaution I always took in 
Northern Nigeria. Yet within a fortnight of my leaving the Colony or, in other 
words, within a month of the pony’s first entering the Niumi Province, he showed 
